POSTED: 11/15/2019

Genetics of Behavior Biol L410/Biol Z620/ABEH 501
class offered in spring 2020
Class syllabus attached    

Meeting Days: T, R
Class # 33716                                                                                                   Meeting Time: 1-2:15pm                                   
Instructor: Dan Tracey dtracey@indiana.edu                                                    Location: CISAB, 409 N. Park (seminar room)                                                

Class Description

It is easy to accept the fact that certain individual human properties are in large part genetically determined.  We have no difficulty in believing that our eye color, our hair, our height, or our blood pressure are features that vary due to the exact complement of inherited genetic variants.  Yet, when it comes to our brains and our behavior, genetic determinism becomes more difficult to accept and is highly controversial.  Do “behavior genes” exist?  How would one define a gene as a behavior gene?  These are some of the questions that we will attempt to answer in this class.  The first part of the class will focus on courtship and “gender specific” behaviors.  We will review the literature that demonstrates concrete examples of how single genes can affect these behaviors.  We will examine the evidence from simple animals like insects as well as rodent models.  Finally, we will examine the evidence that specific gene variants can affect human behavior and ask how selection on single genes may have shaped human language.

This class can count towards the AB Major under Mechanisms Perspective. Please note this class has the following Prerequisites:

POSTED: 11/15/2019

Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)

Coastal Ocean Processes

Program dates: June 8 - Aug 14, 2020

Do 10 weeks of research at the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island!

Application opens Jan 1, 2020 and closes on Feb 14, 2020

For students who have:

- completed one year of biology and chemistry

- will be enrolled as an undergraduate in Fall 2020

- are U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents of the U.S.

More information about the program and how to apply: wrigley.usc.edu/reu/

Please direct questions to Dr. Diane Kim, dianekim@usc.edu, 213-740-8776

See flyer

POSTED: 10/17/2019

NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program
Warm-water Aquatic Ecology
Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA
Summer 2020: May 17 to July 26

http://wilsonlab.com/reu/

Overview: We are excited to invite applications from undergraduate students to participate in a National Science Foundation supported summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program focused on the ecology of southeastern ponds, rivers, reservoirs, and estuaries.  Ten undergraduate students will work closely with a team of Auburn University faculty to explore aquatic ecosystems, complete a student-driven research project, participate in a variety of professional development and social activities, develop and lead an outreach project, and share their research findings in a symposium at the conclusion of the program.  Participants will work closely with our mentors to develop an interdisciplinary project involving complementary fields, such as community ecology, limnology, evolution, fisheries management, molecular biology, conservation, biogeochemistry, biodiversity, and microbiology.  The program will run from May 17 to July 26, 2020 (10 weeks).

Flyer: Please help us advertise the program by posting our flyer at your institution - http://wilsonlab.com/reu/pubs/reu_flyer.pdf  

Eligibility: All applicants who are interested in receiving NSF support must currently be a (1) U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or permanent resident and (2) an undergraduate freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior graduating no earlier than September 2020 or a high school senior that will start their undergraduate education the following fall semester after the REU program.  We are especially encouraging students from traditionally under-represented groups in biology (i.e., African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders, students with disabilities, first generation college students, and U.S. veterans) as well as students from institutions with limited research opportunities (e.g., community colleges) and/or students in financial need to apply.  The online application is available at http://wilsonlab.com/reu/application.html

Support: Participants will receive a stipend ($5,500) plus housing and subsistence, financial assistance for travel to and from Auburn, and support for lab and field supplies.  For full consideration, on-line applications must be received by 1 February 2020.

International students: Although not financially supported by our REU Site, we are also open to including a few strongly motivated and self-funded international students in our REU Site research and professional development activities.

Contact information: For more information about the REU Site, visit http://wilsonlab.com/reu/ or contact Dr. Alan Wilson (wilson@auburn.edu).

COGS-Q 345, Animal Cognition - New for Spring 2020

11:15-A-12:30P TR 

Do animals think the same way humans do? Do they have consciousness? Memory? Are they moral? Do they have language?  This course is an introduction to the study of animal cognition.  The first part of the course will review historical, theoretical, and philosophical perspectives on these questions. With this background on the issues, we will explore debates about specific aspects of cognition that have been studied scientifically, including whether and if so, how, animals reason about problems they are faced with, whether they can be said to have memory and concepts, whether they use can use tools, whether they communicate and if so, can it be called a "language", whether they have consciousness, behave altruistically, and have morals. This course counts towards the Environmental/Cognitive/Developmental Perspective.

Instructors: Tom Schoenemann and Mahi Luthra 

POSTED 10/28/2019

ScIU, a graduate student-run science communication blog here on the IU Bloomington campus, is organizing our third annual Science Communication Symposium! 

This day-long event will be held on Friday, November 8th and will include a workshop, keynote lecture, and a panel discussion. Broadly, the symposium will focus on how public communication can help you as a scientist. Additional details can be found on our website: https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/science-communication-symposium/.

If you have any questions about the event, please feel free to contact Kat Munley via e-mail at kmunley@indiana.edu.

POSTED: 9/13/2019

Danta is pleased to announce our 2019/2020 field courses in tropical biology. Our courses are intended for undergraduates or early graduate level students who have a keen interest in tropical ecosystems and conservation, but have little or no experience of working in a tropical environment. Participants may enroll on either a credit or non-credit basis.

 DANTA operates on a cooperative and collaborative teaching model with multiple international instructors on each course. Co-instruction allows for more individualized instruction, and the sharing and appreciation of different ideas. Visiting scholars are often incorporated into the curriculum to broaden student experience.

 As much of our advertising is done by word-of-mouth, we encourage you to spread the word by forwarding this information to students or friends who may be interested in our programs.

For more information, please visit our website at www.DANTA.info and/or email conservation@danta.email. For an alumni perspective on our programs, please see our blog DANTAisms - https://dantablog.wordpress.com/.

Methods in Primate Behavior and Conservation

Dates:  Winter Session: December 28, 2019 – January 12, 2020; Summer Session: July 4-July 19, 2020.

Program Fee: $2600

Application deadline: Winter Session: December 1, 2019; Summer Session: June 1, 2020

Course Description

This two week course is designed to provide students with field experience in primate behavior, ecology, and conservation. Learning experiences fall into four main categories: field exercises, seminars, lectures, and applied conservation. The field exercises and seminars provide instruction and experience in: (1) methods of measuring environmental variables, including assessment of resource availability, (2) methods of collecting and analyzing the behavior of free-ranging primates, (3) assessments of biodiversity and (4) techniques for estimating population size. Lecture topics will cover the behavior and ecology of Old and New World primates from an evolutionary perspective. Selected lecture topics include primate sociality, feeding ecology, taxonomy, rain forest ecosystems and conservation. Service learning is a large component of all our programs. Students will gain experience in applied conservation through participation in Osa Conservation’s reforestation, sustainable agriculture and wildlife monitoring programs (big cat and sea turtle).

Primate Behavior and Conservation

Dates: June 10 – July 2, 2020

Program Fee: $3500

Application deadline: May 15, 2020

Course Description

This course is designed to provide students with field experience in primate behavior, ecology, and conservation. Learning experiences fall into five main categories: field exercises, independent research, discussions, lectures and applied conservation. The first half of the courses is devoted to learning ecological field techniques, while in the second half students design, carry out and present data from their independent research projects. Many of our participants have gone on to present their work at national and regional conferences. The field exercises and seminars provide instruction and experience in:(1) methods of measuring environmental variables, including assessment of resource availability, (2) methods of collecting and analyzing the behavior of free-ranging primates, (3) assessments of biodiversity and (4) techniques for estimating population size. Lecture topics will cover the behavior and ecology of Old and New World primates from an evolutionary perspective. Selected lecture topics include primate sociality, feeding ecology, taxonomy, rain forest ecosystems, conservation, climate change and sustainability. Participants gain experience in applied conservation through participation in Osa Conservation’s reforestation, and sea turtle breeding and monitoring programs.

Wildlife Conservation and Sustainability

Dates: Winter Session: December 28, 2019 – January 12, 2020; Summer Session: June 10-June 25, 2020

Program fee: $2600

Application deadline: Winter Session: December 1, 2019; Summer Session: May 15, 2020

Course Description
This course is designed to provide students with field experience, on a range of terrestrial surveying techniques, measuring bio-indicator species: mainly key predators and their prey and butterflies. Students will also gain a a better understanding on the principles of defaunation, sustainable development, and community management and its conservation related issues. The course includes four learning experiences categories: field exercises, seminars, lectures, and applied conservation.

The field exercises and seminars offer instruction and experience on direct and indirect methods of biodiversity data collection, management, and analysis, as well as GPS navigation and research project development. Direct methods include butterfly trapping while indirect methods comprise mammal tracking, or camera trapping. Lectures cover ecology and socio-economic and anthropogenic impacts related to selected bio-indicator groups in the Neotropics, with a particularly in the Osa Peninsula. Selected lecture topics include ecology, taxonomy, and conservation of medium-large vertebrates and butterflies, as well as effects of anthropogenic impacts on population dynamics or defaunation. Topics on community-based management, participatory methods, and socio-economic effects on both conservation and the development of sustainable livelihoods for local communities are also included. Students also gain experience in community outreach and education through involvement in an activity at the Piro Ranch involving Don Miguel Sanchez, one of the remaining few landowners in the area.

Field Excursion

All courses include a visit to a wildlife rehabilitation center, sustainable chocolate plantation and dolphin and snorkeling trip of the Golfo Dulce. We overnight on the Boruca Indigenous Reserve where we will learn about the community and their traditional lifeways, and help with needed projects. Every effort is made to implement eco-friendly and socially responsible practices into our day-to-day operations, field courses and overall mission.

Enrollment in each course is limited to 10 students. The course is open to both credit and non-credit seeking students. University credit can be arranged through your home institution.